Galaxy S III And Other TouchWIZ Phones Can Be Easily Hard Reset Via The Web Browser

Own a Samsung made Android phone infested with TouchWIZ? A new exploit has been detected that will reset Samsung’s TouchWIZ factory data reset loop, simply by opening a link via the internal web browser, or by reading the code via any NFC tag or via any QR code. There is absolutely no way to reverse the factory data reset process once it is initiated, knowingly or unknowingly by the user.

The exploit works on a bunch of Galaxy series of phones from Samsung including the popular Galaxy S III including the AT&T variant but not the Verizon one, Galaxy S II, Galaxy S Advance and the Galaxy Ace. The exploit is based on a USSD code, which when dialed directly into the phone, will also lead to a factory reset.

Below is a video of the exploit in action -:

One Android developer and hacker, TeamAndIRC, has tweeted that Samsung has already patched the loop hole in the International I9300 and the AT&T variant of the handset in a recent software update.

Hopefully, the company will fix the loophole in other handsets within a short time as well.

Update: According to TeamAndIRC, the issue is with the stock Android browser and is not related to the Samsung browser.